Fever
by BabyFirefly3538
Summary: Jareth is dying because he refuses to wed a Fae. Travelling to the Aboveground for some closure, he meets a young woman living off of bread and heroin. Becoming fast friends, and then falling in love, they believe all will end well. But what happens when Jareths sickness only gets worse?
1. Ch. 1

**I just wanna do this disclaimer once, so this goes for all of the chapters to follow. I do not own Labyrinth nor any characters that you recognize from the movie/novel/mangas.** **I hope you enjoy my take on this story as it is 20 years post Sarah.** **Ch. 1.**

Jareth was weak. He was sick in a way that consumed all of his energy and magic, made him feel old, and it was painful. Each time a coughing fit would have him doubling over, his chest and abdominal squeazing tight, he feared when he removed his hand from his mouth he would see blood. The king took a moment of peace by closing his eyes as no blood had flown from between his lips yet.

After nearly every meal he would find himself throwing up what little his appetite would allow him to eat. Jareth could barely stand to go from his bed to his thrown, and so the Goblin subjects were all abuzz. He wasnt there to yell at them, kick them, or threaten them and so they whispered (loudly) their worry amongst themselves.

Somehow he had managed to pry himself from his bed and was currently sat at his window sill, looking out over his kingdom. It was brown and dead looking, just as usual. The kings mix matched eyes caught on a tree near the city gates and noted how the dry, leafless branches swayed brittley in the slight breaze. For the first time, he compaired himself to a tree. It looked as awful as he felt.

A sneer curls his upper lip. Fae dont get sick unless they were dying, so that is what must be happening. Jareth was dying and he blamed it on _that girl._ It was _her_ fault he was like this. He didnt know how, but it made him just a little satisfied to have something to be angry with her about. Sarah was the bane of his existance and every day he chided himself for favoring her.

A knock on his chamber door interrupted his silent fuming, and he turns to see the heavy door opening. He was surprised to see not a goblin, but a woman enter.

She had long platinum hair that even in a high pony tale brushed her ankles. Her face was narrow with pretty, high cheek bones, and thin purple lips. A purplish blue teardrop jewel was attached to her chin, right underneath her bottom lip. She wore a white and light blue gown that hugged her pale breast, pushing them up so the eye was sure to settle on them. The bust was tight but fanned out at her cinched waist, and the dress hand long sleeves with lace cuffs at her wrists.

"Queen Mizumi, from the Waterlands, a surprise," he greets, standing and taking a bow at his waist.

"Jareth, my love," her voice feathers as she drops into a shallow curtsy. "I came by to see how you were doing. Word has spread that you've fallen ill."

Mizumi closes the door behind her softly while Jareth swallows back his disdain. Would she ever stop persuing him?

 _Maybe after I'm dead and she is ruling my Labyrinth,_ he thinks bitterly. Sitting down on the sill again as he just manages to hopd back a cough. "I am just fine," he grinds out between his teeth.

"Is that so? Youre mother has died, what, a year ago? Youre 1,320 years old, and you've yet to take a Fae bride. The council is worried about losing a ruler. You know what happens to our kind who's line has died out."

"And what do you propose," he asks, already knowing, and dreading the answer.

"Well, I've been pining for your hide for a long time, over 100 years, and at first I came here to ask you once more to allow me to be your queen and rule beside you. However, seeing you like this has opened my eyes to exactly how pathetic you really are, and I am no longer interested. I am offering you something else. Marry one of my lovely daughters, Moulin or Drumlin, and still sit on your thrown, or be kicked off as you sit wasting away so that I can come in and take control."

"Either way you win," he laughs, surprising her. "You dont think I believe youd continue to let me rule of my own accord with your daughter as my wife, do you? I may be dying, Mizumi, but Im not dead yet. I will do things my way."

"Youre a fool!" Color flooded Mizumis cheeks, and fushed across her breasts in her sudden rage. "Your Labyrinth is already falling in disrepair! The Council is already asking around to consider letting HADES take control of your kingdom once you are gone! Think of your subjects!"

"What of them? You could care less what happens to them. Leave me alone, Water Nymph. Let me have my peace."

With an angry huff Mizumi raises her arms and a tsunami of water appears in her stead, and then evaporates leaving no evidence the queen ever stood in that spot.

With a sigh, Jareth uses a bit of magic to summon a crystal and he peers into it. Inside was a blonde, choppy haired boy in his early 20's pouring over an essay on his cocomputer. Jareth was slightly surprised the boy wasnt emersed in a video game, as was his usual.

"Young Toby, I havent forgotten you, my boy," he glares. It was an empty threat, but one that always made him feel better. Jareth hadnt visited the Williams' house in over 20 years, and really he had no querral with the boy.

Looking up at the sky, Jareth thought about The Aboveground. It was a lot nicer there than here in the Underground. Maybe his magic would hold him for one last trip. Closing his eyes and concentrating, a sweat breaking out on his brow, Jareth turned into a beautiful white and golden brown barn owl.

Taking off into the sky, he felt lighter than he had felt in the past year. He flew towards the sun and managed to squeeze a little more magic out of himself to transport him from one world to the other, and crash landed in a snow bank much deeper than one glance would have told him.

Despite being freezing now, and involuntarily being flung back into human form, he laid back in the snow and let out a breath of exhaustion, before climbing back to his feat and making his way towards a bridge, just as it started to rain.


	2. Ch 2

**Ch. 2**

The rain was freezing. So was the young woman shivering beneath the bridge in the park. Jareths eyes raked up and down her shivering, small form. She was pale, there were purple and green bruises dotting her exposed arms. She was asleep, propped against the bridge stone wall with her legs outstretched in front of her and one arm strung across her too narrow waist, the other outstretched with several puncture wounds in her elbow pit.

An almost empty glass vial sat to her right with a syringe laid on the dirty ground beside it. Curiously, he squats down and picks up the small jar so he can see it better. A hand reaches up and swipes it from him. He looks over to see the girl fully alert and staring at him with wide, angry, blue eyes. Her precious vial of heroin clutched in her fist and cradled to her breast.

"Thats mine," she snaps at him. "Keep your filthy hands away from it!"

Filthy? His hands were clean...and gloved. His anger reared its ugly head, but he stomped it down, reminding himself that she had no idea who she was talking to. "That stuff isnt healthy," he drawls instead of what he really wanted to say.

"Well thats none of your business, is it," she spits as she climbs to her feet and rearranges her messy dyed black hair. It looked like an animal lived up there. Dirt and twigs were stuck in the tangles, more dirt clung to her forehead and under her short fingernails, caked onto her too big mens clothes. She was disgusting. Even her shoes looked too small for her and were worn through.

"What are you doing out here, anyway, dressed like that?" Her head cocked to the side as she asked her question, all anger miraculously gone from her body language.

"I always dress like this," he replies, looking over his dark grey skin tight pants, brown boots, cream poets shirt with a brown waistcoat. He hadnt even bothered with a cloak this time.

"So youre a freak then," she laughs. It was perhaps the only redeaming quality she had, her laugh. It wasnt too deep, but not too high pitched either. Slightly insulted, Jareth turned on his heal to leave her there and find out where the hell he was. "Wait!"

He stopped, and turned half way to look at her. She hugs her arms to herself, shivering. _What a pity,_ he thought.

"Please stay," she whispered so low he barely heard her. It was an embarrassing request, especially to that of a stranger, but she wasnt afraid of him. Her cheeks burned pink even though she didnt think he heard her, and Jareth pondered the idea of acting like he hadnt, but decided against it and approached her again.

The color in her cheeks darkened the closer he got, and he thought that too, was pretty. "I shouldnt stay long. Ive things to do," he says.

"Thats okay, Im used to being on my own. Whats your name?"

Jareth sits on the ground and beckons her toward him, unable to stand watching her shiver any longer. She hesitates, but the cold outweighs the danger in her mind and she cuddles up to him as he ponders how to answer her. His true name almost escaped his lips, but he stopped it.

This girl knew nothing of him. He could be a new person. It was likely when left here he would never see her again, so why shouldnt he lie? He could be somebody else for a short time. "My name is David," he says finally.

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "Fine, dont tell me your name," she chirps in a playful sort of disdain. "I wont tell you mine either. You can call me Kerrilyn."

Both names were so normal, it almost made the both of them feel like a member of human society. He went to say something else to her, but instead had to turn away as another round of coughing threw him onto all fours as he gagged and dry heaved all at the same time. His arms shook as he tried to keep himself from falling face first into the rocks beneath him.

Kerrilyn scooted over and placed a hand on his shoulder, concern stretched across her face. "Are you alright?" He looked over at her and shook off her hand.

"Im fine."

Sweat was beading on his face and chest, and Kerrilyn noticed too. Her hand unexpectedly came up and wiped away his wild hair from his forehead. "Youre burning up," she comments. "We should get you some snow to break the fever."

"It wont help," he says tiredly. "Nothing will help me." It was a lie, but he was unwilling to marry some power hungry wench who cared nothing for his dispicable goblins. As gastly as they were, they were his subjects.

"Cooling your skin off would be a start," she argues.

"Its none of your business," he quotes her almost angrily. Getting up again he storms away in the opposite direction. Irritation was catching up to him as his mind complained about his wet clothes, the awful feeling in his chest, and the annoying girl still following after him.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Why are you following me?"

"Because youre the only person whos given a damn about me in a long time."

Her answer struck him speechless. How could she know he cared what happened to her? He had only done two small things. He looked at her with his peripherals as he kept walking, enterimg the curtain of rain and locating a sidewalk leading past several closed down shops.

The skies were all dark because of the clouds, but he still deduced it was early evening. There was a snow plow down the street attempting to keep the streets as clear as possible so people could get to work the next day.

"Where am I," he wondered out loud.

"Corner of Main street," came the obvlivious answer.

"I meant territory."

"Territory? Youre in Grangeville, Idaho, if thats what you mean."

"The United States?"

"Thats right," she smiles. She didnt even ask how he didnt know, she didnt really care.

He made a small tsking sound and peered into a cafe that was open. There was nobody inside that he could see, but the warmth coming from inside was inviting. He didnt have any money, but he lacked the energy to change back to an owl and get to the UK. He would just have to wait.

The bell above the door chimed as they entered and the pair quickly made their way to a corner table, shivering at the sudden change of temperature. Kerrilyns fingers burned and tingled as they warmed, and the unpleasant sensation travelled up her arms and legs as well.

A middle aged burnette woman came out with a note padpad and walked over to them briskly. "Can I start you off with drinks?"

"No, we are just warming ourselves," Jareth answered calmly.

"You gotta order somethin' or I gotta throw you out. No loitering, says so there," the waitress points with her blue pen over to a sign above the register.

"We will have two glasses of water," Kerrilyn interjects before Jareth can mouth off. The waitress smacks her lips and shoves her notepad in her white apron pocket, and her pen behind her ear as she turns and walks briskly away.

"I dont see what the problem is, nobody is here," Jareth complains.

"Thats probably the point. She isnt making any money," Kerrilyn explains. Jareth huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "So," she continues. "Tell me your story."

Jareth looks up at her, once again shocked by her request. He decided he liked her well enough, which shocked bim further. A human girl that was annoying but not obnoxious. Maybe he would help her get off the drugs.


	3. Ch 3

**Ch.3**

 **Thank you for your review anyways, but the description of the story itself is kind of depressing, not to mention its catagoried in Tragedy. However, if you make it this far, the entire story isnt going to be dark or depressing. Ive got to work in a romance somehow thats going to be a lighter tone than their own personal background.**

 **On another note, the short song here was created by me, so its probably not any good but hey, I tried.**

The two were chased out of the little restaurant soon after. Kerrilyn skipped around kicking away blocks of packed snow and ice while Jareth tried to figure out if his magic would work well enough to at least get them out of here.

"We need some new clothes," the girl piped. "And you need a haircut."

"And you need a good washing," he shot back automatically. He liked his hair...

The girl had the decency to blush a light pink and try to pick a twig from her rats nest hair. She winced as it cake out and Jareth stared disdainfully at her, imagining her dangling by her toes above the Bog. He still needed to be in control of something, he was a king after all.

He wasnt feeling so weak at the moment, but the magic that he usually felt tingling at his fingertips when he summoned it sparked and died. This was horrible for his morale, but he decided even if he was basically like any other man now, he could still boss this girl around. "Kerrilyn," he called to her as she had managed to maneuver her way a ways down the sidewalk.

The girl stopped dancing for warmth and stared inquisitively back at him, an eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

"You must know somewhere warm we can go. Maybe some food we can eat. Take me there."

"Take you? I dont even know you."

"Yet youve hung around me for the past two hours. Its drizzling rain, Im tired of waiting."

"And what will you do if I dont take you?"

Jareth caught up to her in ten long strides, invading her personal space so abruptly that Kerrilyn gasped and backed into a brick wall. Jareth glared at her, grabbed her wrist in a tight grip and extended her arm. He pinched his mouth shut and concentrated harder than he had even to turn himself into an owl, and the magic sparked and lit just enough to push a clear liquid from the wounds in her elbow pit. She squeaked in discomfort and her knees buckled, but he managed to hold her up with his knee.

With his free hand he reached inside her loose pocket and snatched up her vial of heroin and held it before her eyes. "If you dont, you wont get this back."

"Thats mine!" Kerrilyn snarled at him and took a leap for it as he backed away. She stumbled as her feet misjudged her landing and almost fell forward, catching her balance again right before she face planted. "Whoa..." her hands flew up to her head as if she had the worlds worst headache.

"Dont defy me, little girl."

He knew he probably looked terrifying, even with his wet clothes and wind tossed hair. His face and body language always seemed to know what to do when it came to young girls. He was treating her like a Runner, and so his instincts would take over.

"Can you carry a tune," she asked out of the blue. Straightening her posture, she looked him in the eyes, which startled him. No girl had ever been able to look him in the eyes when he commandeered over them.

"Of course I can, I'm a-..." he stopped as if rethinking what he wanted to say.

"Youre a what?"

"I'm a...musician," he finished, deciding on the spot that it was not a complete lie.

"Well, David, I may know just the place. But um...you're going to have to get over your drug fear."

"Fear? I have no fear," Jareth spits as the girl turns around and starts jogging away from him. Not wanting to be left behind, Jareth goes after her, feeling a little silly for running.

They were going long enough that Jareth had to resort back to walking, as he didnt really run much, but he was thankful for the warmth it had provided him. Kerrilyn had slowed down for him, but by the time they left the town area and went into the housing neighborhoods she was walking just slightly in front of him, trying to catch her breath.

There was a shabby looking small, grey house squeezed between a yellow wood and a white single family homes. The entrance to it was in the back alley, which is where the pair ended up. The sad little house had a concrete driveway that dipped down as a staircase on the far left, which was the basement entryway. There was another door around the other side of the building to get into the main part of the house, with a walkway leading up to it, but Kerrilyn led Jareth down the steps to the basement and just walked in.

The smell that came from the room hit Jareth in the face like a ton of bricks. He wrinkled his nose and almost held his breath to keep the stench of skunk out of his sences. Despite the smell, he followed Kerrilyn inside.

There were two guys and a girl inside, lounging on an ugly ripped brown leather couch. Kerrilyn grinned at them as they sat up strait and asked "what the hell", sheilding their eyes from the dull light coming into the dark room. Kerrilyn shut the door behind him.

"Guys, this is David. I thought he could try out as our singer. David, this is Leary, Jonathan, and Kristie."

Leary was a tall guy with long,shoulder length greesy brown hair and a shadow of facial hair, dark blue eyes, and twitchy fingers. He wore a blue sweater with a silver stripe across his chest and shoulders, and blue washed out skinny jeans with holes up and down the legs. He launched forward without getting up from his seat and offered a hand out to Jareth to shake. "Nice to meet you, man. Last couple douche bags we had in here sucked. Youre not a sucky douche bag are you?"

Jareth glared down at Learys grimy hand and stayed firmly in place. The younger man awkwardly took his hand back, muttering under his breath as he reached between the cushions and pulled out a bag of green oregano looking stuff.

Jonathan had golden blonde hair cut close to his scalp. His face was long and he had a plump set of lips, and brown eyes. He smiled at Jareth, revealing a cheap silver tooth in his upper jaw. He had on a black shirt with red writing on it that simply said _Slayer_ and grey pants. Jonathan stands up, swaying a little and offers Jareth a beer, to which he declines.

Kristie had long, strait, red hair with bangs that curled over her forehead. She was pale and had on red lip stick and purple eyeliner. She was wearing a floral print blouse with a green jacket on and dark jeans. She looked the cleanest out of the three. Her green eyes looked over at Jareth, from toe to hair and smirked at hom before stepping forward. "He looks like a rock star, lets see what he can do with a mic. Sing us something," she demands as she throws him a mic from on the table set out in front of them.

She picks up a music sheet and pushes it over to him, then her accustic guitar and Kerrilyn turns on the light, also getting hissed at.

"He cant read in the dark, you idiots," she defended herself. Kristie began to play.

" _Time I spend,_

 _just wasting away,_

 _waiting on a wish,_

 _I knew would never come true,_

 _waiting on you,_

 _waiting to fly away..._

 _I dream of a world,_

 _forgotten by time,_

 _but I never thought youd destroy me,_

 _I play nice, I dont play fair,_

 _and I never,_

 _said we'd last forever,_

 _We just dont have the time..."_

"Alright stop," Kristie says in a hard tone as she stops strumming. "That was...literally the best thing I've heard in the past year we've been doing auditions."

"Here man," Leary says as he hands over a slice of bread with butter on it. "Welcome to the band."


End file.
